


Homewards

by faroresson



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: A new mystery begins, Gen, Persona 5 Protagonist is from Inaba, Post-Canon, Tags subject to change with updates, This is just a Shenanigans Ensue type fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faroresson/pseuds/faroresson
Summary: Probation is over, Ren's a free man. Free with one tiny condition, he has to move back home to his countryside hometown of Inaba for at least his last year of high school. Armed with only Morgana, some memories and cell service, Ren is going to do his damndest to survive third year without getting into trouble. Now if only he could remember where he's seen that blue door before...
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OfAngels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfAngels/gifts).



> Yes, I know, I'm starting yet another P5/P4 crossover that takes place in 2017. I know! But I seen the Idiots in Inaba AU and was inspired! And I'm gonna use any excuse I can to look into both Protags' parental relationships, as well as platonic PegoBan

Third year was going to be a Super Special Nightmare. Not for anything as dramatic as, say, getting arrested and having to cheat death everyday until you can kill a god or anything. But, regardless, Ren was not looking forward to it. He was starting his third year at a different school, too. First it was that school in Okina, then Shujin, and now he's at his first year's rival school Yasogami. The fact that Yaso would take him in despite the fact that his record wasn't wiped -the charges were overturned at least- and he did end up in Juvie for a couple months was astounding. When he said his final goodbyes after the Phantom Thieves helped him unload his stuff, Ren had a sliver of hope that maybe a new school meant a fresh start; then he remembered that in a small town, rumors spread fast and you can't escape when everyone knows your name and family. Nevertheless, Ren was going to make the best of his situation! He had Morgana as a companion, and with the magic of cell service and internet, a direct link to his friends in Tokyo.

Sunday, April 9th, Ren was currently slouched in the back of his parents' car as he's being driven up to Yasogami to meet his teacher and the principal. Morgana was napping in his school bag. _"I wonder if I'll have to remove the Shujin logo…"_ Ren thought absently, tangling strands of his bangs between his fingers. The car ride is silent, not even the radio is on. It would have bothered Ren more if the drive was longer than three minutes, but the lack of big city rush hour traffic and the 2 metric meters that was Inaba's main road kept everything brief.

Once the car was parked and his parents exited, Ren looped the straps of his bag over his shoulder and climbed out of the car. Yasogami was exactly like he remembered, large, rectangular and on a hilltop. Okay, so it wasn't that remarkable, but it was a high school, it wasn't supposed to be. Ren followed behind as his father and mother practically marched to the principal's office.

"Ah, Mr and Mrs Amamiya, I've been expecting you," the principal greets from his desk. He stands to shake the hands of Ren's parents, offering a nod of acknowledgment Ren's way. "So this is Ren?"

"Yes, he's just moved home from Tokyo." Ren's mother answers, "We hope he'll get along well with everyone here."

Ren bowed, "Nice to meet you, sir."

The principal laughs politely, "Relax, Amamiya. Now about your homeroom teacher, she should be here in a moment."

As if on cue, a woman with wavy brown hair and heavy dark circles under her eyes entered the office. "Hello," she says, "I'm Mrs Nakayama. I'll be your homeroom teacher, Amamiya-kun as well as your math teacher."

Though he's tempted to just offer a thumbs up or an okay sign, Ren introduces himself in a respectful manner. This much is familiar, meet the head of the staff, the person in charge of your class, get a tour and go home. At least this time he wasn’t being threatened and accused of needless violence due to his record…

"Oh and one more thing, Amamiya. About your record…"

Fuck! He had to jinx himself, didn't he.

The principal continues, "I wouldn't worry too much, the information will stay confidential. Just behave yourself and stay out of trouble and your last year will be fine."

"Oh he'll behave alright," Ren's father says firmly, "Won't you?"

All Ren can do is agree.

The ride back home was much like the ride to Yasogami, dead silent and under five minutes. The second they pulled into the driveway, Ren bolted up to his room. He let Morgana out of the school bag, the cat stretched and curled up on the center of Ren's bed. Ren pulled put his phone and messaged the group chat, assuring everyone he's still alive. Afterwards, he dialed Futaba, as it rang he filled up Morgana's food and water bowl.

"Sup broseph?"

He snorts, startling Morgana out of his nap, "You know, still kicking. I just figured you'd wanna be the first to know I have the Crack Teacher."

Futaba's sputtering was loud enough for Morgana to hear from across the small room, "I-I... the what? Ren? Crack Teacher!? They teach you about crack?"

Ren, still holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder, waves his hands in a frantically dismissive gesture, "No no no no, Nakayama just _looks_ like she's on crack. Constantly fretting, wide fucking eyes and yet somehow still tired looking. I'll send you a picture."

There was a pause on the other side of the line, the click-clack of a keyboard and finally a loud "Holy shit, dude! Why does she look like that?"

"How on earth does Futaba find info so easily?" Morgan interjects, jumping down from Ren's bed and walking to his water.

Ren put the phone on speaker, "How'd you find her so fast?"

Futaba's mischievous grin was audible, "Easy! Googled 'Nakayama Yasogami' and found your school's site. Had a directory and hoo boy there are some types."

That pulled a laugh from Ren, if he remembered the rumors correctly, there was one woman who was obsessed with Egypt, and the creepy horny one, and of course the very anti-horny guy who died back in twenty eleven. As shit as his academic year was at Shujin, at least the teachers were somewhat normal… Minus Ushimaru, that guy was a dick and Ren was sure he had at least one scar on his forehead to prove it. He and Futaba continued to talk, Morgana adding his own comments every once in a while. By the time Ren had hung up, it was time for dinner. Dinner was not a quiet affair like car rides, the TV was showing the news and Ren's parents conversed about their days and plans for the week. Knowing he wasn't going to be included in the discussion, Ren focussed his attention on the news.

"In other news," The anchor says, "With Masayoshi Shido finally out of the hospital, Japan's Diet is able to return to business as usual. Though it does beg the question, how were the infamous Phantom Thieves involved? Reports had also shown that the prosecutor in charge of that case, Sae Niijima, had stepped down to become a defense attorney once the case was closed."

Ren stopped listening to the TV as it cut to a commercial. _"The Phantom Thieves…"_ he thought, _"I'm gonna miss doing that."_

Since the next day was the first day of his third year, Ren decided to go to bed early. He said goodnight to his parents, changed into pyjamas and tucked himself under his blanket, Morgana curling up on the pillow next to his head moments later.

The next morning, Ren was pleasantly surprised that he slept through the night with no weird dreams that leave him groggy and confused. He dressed in his new uniform, dutifully buttoning his shirt all the way and tucking it in but leaving his jacket open and donned his glasses. He packed his pencil case and notebooks in his bag, let Morgana climb in after and left for school without a word. 

It was cloudy, and not the bright and summery way where the sun was still blinding but it was slightly cooler out. It was cloudy in the way meaning impending rainy season, Ren wished he brought his umbrella, but worst comes to worst he hangs out after school for a bit. He made it to classroom 3-1 without any incidents, no castles, no prisons and no pretty delinquents yelling about pedophile teachers. The relaxing pace would have been nice if there wasn't the oppressive atmosphere of multiple eyes on him. Sure he may not have gone to school with these kids, but he grew up around them, and in a small town rumors travel faster than a plague. Getting expelled from one school because he got arrested, disappearing for a year and coming back to a new school didn't do wonders for his reputation. At least the teachers didn't make him buy a new school bag, he liked the Shujin one. Good memories and Morgana fits with no problem.

Ren picks a seat next to the window, echoing his seat at Shujin. Just out of the way enough the teacher will leave him alone, and this time he was smart enough to sit in the very back row so nobody behind him would see the cat in his desk this year. "Shout out to that guy though," Ren mutters to himself,

"What guy?" Morgana asks, puzzled,

Ren answers in a whisper, as students had begun filling seats as the first bell had rung, "The guy who sat behind me in class last year. Never snitched about you or anything despite the fact that he could totally see you."

Morgana scoffed, "He's better at keeping secrets than Ryuji."

Just as Ren was scolding his cat as secretly as he could, there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned and was met face to face with Shiho Suzui. She smiled meekly and waved hello, "Hi, stranger."

The grin that spread across Ren's face was bright enough to light a city, "Shiho! What're you doing here?"

Shiho took the seat in front of Ren, sitting backwards in her chair, she said, "I moved out here with my family after the whole… y'know. The plan was to go to another big city but my aunt and uncle had this house here they were selling so we picked it up for cheap. I didn't know you were from here, Ann never said."

"I told them where my hometown was the day they drove me home so it's not her fault," Ren says with a shrug, "I'm glad you're doing alright though. Have you talked to Ann recently?"

Shiho nodded excitedly, "We talk on the phone almost every day. Did she tell you she was going to model internationally?"

"Yeah, said she was doing it so you'd see her all the time. I'm surprised she didn't mention you moving out here."

Shiho turns to sit properly in her chair, "You know now don't you?"

"Sure do." Ren replies, the second bell rings and Mrs Nakayama bounds through the door right on time. She looks as frazzled as ever, and sounds it as she introduces herself. She never calls attention to the two transfer kids and instead jumps right into going over the standard homeroom stuff. Ren propped his head up on his hand and looked out the window. He watched the wind blow the leaves on the trees around the school while Mrs Nakayama went on and on about something to do with calculus. After several long hours, school ended for the day.

Shiho had been out the door before Ren even processed the final bell, so hanging out after school with her was a no go. Not the end of the world, she probably had a club to get to. Clubs, that didn't sound too bad. He hadn't had the opportunity to join a club in Tokyo, instead all of his meaningful time was spent with the Phantom Thieves or shady adults who gave him things. When clubs open to new members in a few weeks, he'll check them out.

As Ren passed by the faculty office on the first floor, he was surprised to see his mother there. He had assumed he'd be walking home, and then he panicked in case he somehow did something wrong and the school called his parents and now he was a dead man. He stepped into the office, hands shoved deep into his pockets to hide how much they're shaking, "Hey, Mom. What brings you here?"

His mother looks up at him from where she was seated, "I was just discussing the guidance counselor with the principal. We believe that after… last year," her words turned a touch sour, not that Ren blamed her, it was a weird year, "it might be good for you to talk to a professional about what you can do for yourself and your future."

Ren adjusted his glasses and twisted a few locks of hair around his fingers, "Yeah, sounds… it, uh, sounds good." Nevermind the fact that the last guidance counselor he had seen had tried to kill him. But maybe his mom was right, getting a game plan for after high school and maybe a referral to a normal therapist would do him some good.

His mother smiled, and the principal entered the office again, "Ah, Amamiya, you're here too, perfect!" he said, moving to sit at his desk. "I was just speaking to Amamiya-san here about you, she was thinking it would be beneficial for you to meet with the guidance counselor."

Ren removed his hand from his hair and tucked it back into his pocket, "Yeah, I think that sounds good. Do I make an appointment?"

The principal shook his head, "No need, we have this man everyday after school and at lunch hour. He works both career and academic advancement and mental health angles of his position." he turns to Ren's mother, "He's been known to put delinquents back on the straight and narrow, I think he'll work wonders in your son." 

Now Ren was worried, there wasn't anything wrong with mental health care and all, but the way the principal said "delinquent" had unease rising in Ren's chest. Without the Meta Nav and the whole Metaverse in general, he could only hope he's being put in the care of a decent, respectable adult.

"Well, Ren," his mother says to him, "I'll drive you home today. I want you to meet with the guidance counselor after school this week though, understood?"

"Understood."

With that, they leave. The short ride home much like the first, except this time they stop at the gas station. While the attendant fills their tank, Ren's mother catches his eye in the centre rear view mirror, "Ren, why are you wearing glasses? Did you go blind in Tokyo?"

"I- uh…" Ren didn't really have an answer. He wore them in Tokyo because he was told to, he wore them now, because? Force of habit? Aesthetic? Sure. Aesthetic works. "I like how they look, they're fashion glasses."

His mother pays for the gas and drives the rest of the way home without another word. Ren feels nauseous when he gets home, a mix of not bringing a lunch to school and anxiety related to the whole counselor situation. He grabs a granola bar from the cupboard and heads to his room without supper, not trusting himself to even keep the granola bar down. He considers messaging his friends about the whole thing, but opts instead to just tell them about Shiho and his teachers instead. Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad...


	2. Clubs and Council

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of many, and Ren's looking for something to do with his time. It's not like he had any normal hobbies between infiltrations and school and his thirty eight part time jobs in Tokyo. Shiho has an idea, why not sports?

It was raining when morning came. Ren grabbed his umbrella and hoped for the best in terms of puddles, his outdoor shoes were just cheap tennis shoes after all. As he passed through the shopping district, he noticed something odd. Between the metalworks shop and the bookstore there was an ominous blue glow. It's familiar, and for the life of him he doesn't know why. Maybe at lunch when he's fully awake he'll have an idea.

Classes come and go without a hitch, Ren takes notes occasionally and doesn't once have to dodge chalk or a marker or whatever. When the bell rings for lunch he heads to the practice building to look around at what clubs were there. He passed the more academic leaning clubs like chemistry, music sounded fun but he couldn't play an instrument. As he neared the gym, he ran into Shiho.

"Oh, Amamiya-kun! Are you looking for something?"

"Just Ren's fine," he corrects, "I was looking at what clubs are offered."

Shiho grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the gym. "From what I hear, sports clubs take new members starting next Tuesday. I'm checking them out too!"

Shiho's excitement was infectious, especially when compared to how down and just exhausted she was back in Tokyo. Moving to the sticks really did wonders for her. Now that he thought about it, clubs weren't in session during lunch, which is why he was looking at culture clubs, they have their own rooms. So where was Shiho taking him?

Morgana, feeling adequately jostled in Ren's bag vocalized his upset and poked his head out of his confines. Upon hearing a disgruntled meow, Shiho stops, "Oh my god!" she quickly starts whispering, "You have a cat? At school?" 

"Yes..? He's my, uh," Ren and Morgana look at each other, "therapy cat?" 

Shiho grinned and started scratching Morgana's chin, "So this is the little guy I heard about. Ann would tell me about your cat, is he really super smart?"

Ren laughs, which has Morgana scowling, "Yes and no. He's well behaved, but unfortunately he's not super great at biology." 

Shiho rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I was thinking about managing a sports club because I can't actually play still. And you got to meet the coach, he's super nice and I think you'll like soccer."

"Soccer, huh?" Ren answered, he'd never played soccer. He didn't really do normal sports. Aside from running with Ryuji and gymnastic stuff with Sumire, his sport participation was jazz dance lessons. The pair kept walking, slower now as to not shake Morgana, passed the kids shooting hoops in the gym and into the equipment room. Inside was a man in a tracksuit, sorting and organizing equipment. Ren didn't recognize him, he didn't look like the PE teacher who would sometimes pretend to teach second and third years English.

"Coach Nagase, I have a prospective member for the soccer club." Shiho announces cheerfully. The coach stops rifling through the box he was sorting and stands to face Shiho and Ren. He greets Shiho politely and shakes Ren's hand,

"Coach Daisuke Nagase, former Yasogami soccer star and current sports club advisor. Nice to meet you."

Ren swallows, "Nice to meet you. I hear Shiho is managing the soccer team."

"She sure is," Coach Nagase confirms, "Suzui's gonna be great for the team. But we're always hurting for playing members. Sign ups start next Monday, first practice is Tuesday."

Ren smiles lightly, "I'll be there."

Coach Nagase gives the two an energetic thumbs up and goes back to sorting the equipment. So Shiho and Ren headed back to class. When classes finished, Ren headed to the guidance office. The door was closed but unlocked, he knocked but when he got no response he cracked the door open. The office was empty, well that wasn't entirely true, it had furniture and decor it was just devoid of people. A little sign on the desk said "Be back in 5", so Ren decided to look around instead of leaving.

The basics of the room weren't unexpected, the same colour and materials as every other office in the building. The shelves along the far wall were filled with books, except some of the higher shelves which had photographs, little statuettes and trinkets. All in all nothing out of the ordinary, Maruki's office was pretty similar. Now, the desk, the desk was interesting. While the rest of the office looked neat and orderly, the desk had a horrible case of Nearby Flat Surface Disease. Papers were strewn across the surface, what looked like college textbooks and colouring books stacked haphazardly on either side. There was a half empty mug of coffee and a framed photograph just slightly out of the way of the chaos.

Like somebody with no knowledge of privacy and tact, Ren pics up the photograph. It's not a fancy frame, likely commissioned from the metalworks place if the weight of the metal was to be believed. The fact that the counselor had a photo on his desk wasn't strange, lots of people with their own desks do that. The fact that it was only this picture of a little girl holding a huge beetle that was on the desk was interesting. Maybe it was his kid? You had to be kind of old to be a doctor, so it was plausible. The other interesting thing about the whole office was there was no name plate on the door, nor on the desk, so Ren had negative three ideas on who the guidance counselor was at Yasogami. Maybe he should have asked Futaba or checked the staff directory himself.

The door behind him opened with a creak, and Ren jumped four feet straight up. "Yes, I know. Right. I promise I'll be there in two minutes." Ren turns on his heel, a guy talking on a flip phone had just walked in. He puts a hand to the receiver, "Hi, sorry no meetings today. Family emergency," he goes back to speaking into his phone, "I'm going. I'll call the school and tell them I'm on my way.

Ren just stands there dumbly as the guy grabs a handful of papers and hurries out of the office.  _ "The counselor seems to be unavailable"  _ Ren thinks, though all he says is "Huh, alright then," and he decides to head home.

"You're home earlier than expected," Ren's father says in place of greeting, "Did you go see guidance today?"

Ren was not really ready for an interrogation, but he answered honestly, "Went to the office. He wasn't in today." His father nodded slowly and went to the living room. Ren shot upstairs to change into civvies. He had dinner with his parents, they asked how he liked school, he said he might join soccer. It was a very shallow affair. Afterwards he settled himself on his bed and messaged Shiho about the incident at the guidance office,

Ren: So I ran into some guy at the office,

He, uh, came in, said hi and left

Shiho: Yikes, did he say why?

Ren: Family emergency

Shiho: Well maybe tomorrow? I heard from Coach and some other students that he's pretty swell.

Ren: Yeah but my last therapist tried to kill me?? So you know… Fear

"REN!" His mother calls from the main room, "COME DEAL WITH YOUR CAT!" 

Ren rolled over just enough to face the door, "Morgana! C'mere kitty kitty!" Morgana comes running into Ren's room with a loud chirp. "What were you doing that got Mom so mad?" 

Morgana butted his head against Ren's chin, "I may have knocked something off the fridge…"

Ren snorts, "Why the hell were you on the fridge?" Morgana responded with a dismissive noise.

"Maybe we should find you something to do? You can't keep spending every evening in your room. What about a job?"

Ren falls back onto his pillows with a groan, "I just started school! I'm going to join a club, then we can think about jobs. Not to mention the Velvet Room looking thing I seen in the shopping district. I don't need money right now."

Morgana hops up onto Ren's window sill, "Fine, but don't complain to me when you can't afford my food anymore."

"Yeah yeah, you can eat regular cat food. If you eat too much curry you may explode." Ren teases, moving on to text the Phantom Thieves. Morgana enacts revenge by diving off the window sill and onto Ren, who shoved him off. Ren put on a movie to fall asleep to and tucked into bed, Morgana laying down next to his head, nudging their foreheads together,

"We're gonna be back in Tokyo before we know it, right Joker?"

Ren sighs and puts his glasses above his pillow, "Hoping nothing goes wrong…"

That night, he dreamt of blue cells and black chains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe the one person who actually wanted me to write this didn't read it. I watched him open the tab, and then go look at tungle dot com... the utter betrayal
> 
> But anyway, yeehaw Social Link Go! but not quite


	3. Mysteries Shrouded in Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren fulfills his promise to meet with guidance, hangs out with Shiho, and signs a contract

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the word "Guidance" so many times it stopped looking like a word for this chapter
> 
> also I don't wanna dissuade people from expecting something good from this fic but,,,, don't expect this fic to be some super cool action packed extravaganza I don't know what I'm doing

Ren woke up tired, remnants of a strangely familiar dream floating around his head. Morgana decides to explore around town instead of joining Ren at school, which is fine, it's not like he needs to bring the cat everyday. He snags a piece of toast on his way out the door, bidding his mother farewell as she reminds him about their agreement. On the way to school, Ren passes by the weird blue door between Daidara's and Yomenaido. He's tempted to try and open it. It looks almost exactly like the Velvet Room doors that were outside palaces and around Tokyo. However he's got school shortly and he's still got a way to walk, so instead Ren heads to class, vowing to investigate later.

Then, school happened. Not much to be discussed, a few teachers quizzed him and he spent lunch with Shiho. After school, Shiho invited him to do what all country kids do when you don't want to go home: loiter at the local superstore. 

"I promised my parents and the principal I'd go to guidance, remember?" Ren says, a touch disappointed.

Shiho frowns, "That's right," her brow furrows in thought and after a second she says, "I'll go with you. Then we can hang out afterwards."

Ren smiles and adjusts his bag, "Okay."

The pair head down to the guidance office, they're stopped just outside the door as a minor commotion seemed to be in progress. Commotion isn't the right word for it, a scene, maybe? Either way, a couple of teachers were in the way and having a discussion.

"Dr Dojima, I'm so glad I ran into you!" one of the teachers, Ms Kashiwagi, Ren recalls, says. 

"Hey," Ren whispers to Shiho, "That's the guy I saw yesterday!" he points to the alleged Dr Dojima, who was leaning against the office door and looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

"Kashiwagi," he says tensely,

Ms Kashiwagi laughs, "C'mon, I told you, just Noriko is fine." her giggly tone seemed to make everyone in the area uncomfortable, "But anyway, Dr Dojima,"

The other guy interrupts her, his tone even but decidedly not calm, "Kashiwagi, you know that's not my name, you taught me for six months and I've worked here for over a year. Now I'd love to chat but I have work to do, thank you." Ms Kashiwagi pouts dramatically, but leaves. Ren and Shiho watch Not-Dr-Dojima breathe a sigh of relief, brush his hair out of his eyes and step into the office.

Shiho turns to Ren, "I wonder what that was about. You think he's got beef with her?"

Ren shrugs, "Let's get this over with," he says and he and Shiho enter the guidance office. It's exactly the same as yesterday, except this time the counselor who at this point they knew wasn't named Dojima was doing paperwork at his desk.

There was a beat, then Ren cleared his throat, "Excuse me, are… are you the guidance counselor?"

The other guy looks up from his paperwork, eyes the two students in front of him for a moment and smiles lightly, "Yeah. What can I do for you?" he looks at Ren once more, "Oh, right, sorry about yesterday. Something happened down at the station and I had to go pick up my sister."

Ren accepts the apology and sits on the loveseat he just noticed off to his right. Shiho followed suit. There was another beat of silence, the three just sitting there, waiting for somebody to speak first.

"I guess I should introduce myself, Yu Narukami. Yasogami's guidance counselor."

"Why, if you don't mind my asking, did Ms Kashiwagi call you Dr Dojima?" Shiho asks, unable to hide her curiosity.

Ren made vague noises of support, also very curious, "Isn't Dojima the name of the local detective?"

Dr Narukami sips his coffee, "Yep. He's my uncle, I've been 'The Dojima Kid' since moving here after high school. But that's a story for another time, I assume you guys came for a reason?"

Shiho pats Ren's shoulder, "Ren's supposed to talk to you, principal's orders."

"And you?" Dr Narukami inquires,

"Moral support." 

Dr Narukami takes another sip of his coffee and stretches, "Okay, considering you weren't brought here by faculty it's not a behaviour issue. You worried about college?"

Ren shakes his head, "I think I'm here for my mental health, I had a… rough second year and this is my third transfer in three years. My parents are a little worried, I think."

Shiho and Ren barely missed the counselor's sigh of "Oh thank god," with how quietly he said it. Then he speaks directly to the pair, "I don't think it'd be good to start unpacking everything considering we just met, but I’ll lend an ear while you catch me up." He pulls out a pen and a notepad, "What's your name, again?"

"Ren Amamiya,"

Dr Narukami stops writing, "Amamiya? As in Ken and Nagisa Amamiya's boy?"

Ren bristles, "You know my parents?"

Narukami gives a so-so gesture, "A friend of mine knows your mother, so I hear about them second hand." He returns to his notepad, "You're okay with discussing this with her here?" he gestures with his pen to Shiho.

"Yes," Ren says, "She was there for a part of it anyways. We went to Shujin together in Tokyo." Shiho affirms the statement and Ren begins detailing the hellscape that was last year. He explained his arrest, probation and being sent off to Tokyo, and he spoke about the way students avoided him like he had the plague after his record got leaked. Dr Narukami dutifully took notes, not saying anything, not even interjections of acknowledgment. Ren left his backstory at that, arrest, expulsion, transfer, exclusion. More than enough. He turned to Shiho, who had a vice grip on his shoulder, she looked like she was on the verge of tears, Dr Narukami on the other hand seemed unphased.

Some minor pleasantries were exchanged, Dr Narukami wished him well and asked him to come back another time. Ren and Shiho left to hang out at Junes. If there was one thing Ren didn't miss about small town culture, it was the "You have nowhere to go so you hang out with your friends at Walmart" part. 

"So I was telling Ann about the bear," Shiho says as they enter the western entrance, "She didn't believe me."

Ren pulls out his phone and opens the Phantom Thieves' group chat, "Pretty sure Teddie is an Inaba exclusive," he replies. He sends a message asking about the bear in the chat and puts his phone back in his pocket, "Wanna get photographic evidence?"

Shiho clapped her hands and grinned. She and Ren called the elevator and headed down to the grocery department first to explore. There were some decent deals on canned soup, which was neat. But, the only staff was normal clerks and stockers. The same was said of the home and clothing departments. While they managed to spot sight of the infamous Junes mascot in the electronics section, the little guy was already halfway across the section and headed to the elevator. Ren and Shiho followed, catching the next elevator and heading up to the food court on the roof.

The food court was a good call. It took only two minutes for Shiho to spot the bipedal blue and red bear standing by the popsicle cart that had yet to be closed for the season. She pulled out her phone and practically sprinted Teddie's way, Ren jogging behind.

"Teddie!" He shouts, grabbing the bear's attention, "Can we get a picture?" The bear's smile seems to widen as he waves the teens over. Shiho starts setting up her phone camera for a timed picture before realizing there was really nowhere to perch it and get everyone in the shot. Ren offered to act as the selfie stick, then as the photographer, "I have a couple pics of me and the bear from when I was in middle school," he said as justification.

Shiho relented hesitantly, letting Ren use his phone to take a photo, but as she got into her pose, Teddie shook his head, "Don't worry guys, I have an idea. Gotta make sure both this lovely lady and her dashing friend can have their picture! Wait here!" and he ran off like a bullet.

In what felt like a split second, Teddie returned, dragging who Ren and Shiho recognized as the part time supervisor over. "Tada!" Teddie exclaimed with a flourish, "He can hold the camera. Just be sure to get my good side."

The supervisor rolled his eyes at Teddie and took Ren and Shiho's phones, "Alright alright, kids, say cheese." He snaps a few pictures on each phone, Ren and Shiho both grinning goofily with their arms around the bear between them. With little extra fanfare, the supervisor hands the teens their phones back and tells Teddie to get back to work in a fashion that seemed more of a reflex reaction than a genuine command. Satisfied with their pictures, Ren and Shiho decide to claim a table and grab some food.

"It's so weird, Teddie and that Sup have been working here as long as I can remember," Ren says slowly between sips of his pop, "I'd feel worse if Teddie didn't seem to love the job and I'm pretty sure that sup is just working through college."

Shiho laughs lightly, "Do you at least know the guy's name?"

Ren shook his head. He just knew the face, but it wasn't like he had been formally introduced to the staff at Junes. "I forgot to ask, how are you liking small town life. I know I didn't really miss it but our circumstances are quite different."

After a bite of rice and fried vegetables, Shiho answers, "I like it! It's so cool that everybody has some connection to everybody, and even though I miss Ann and the volleyball team like hell it's not like I have to communicate by snail mail or anything. Now, I wanna know, what kind of intel do you have on the local everything. I didn't leave the house much after moving besides grocery shopping at Junes so I need a local's input."

"Uh, well… I don't know much about Yaso, I went to a prep school in Okina before going to Shujin," Ren says with a touch of embarrassment, "I know Aiya's has some cool chinese dishes, and I heard the hospital is haunted! But, otherwise I know as much as you. I…" Ren grimaces and begins tugging at some of his hair, "I wasn't the most social kid growing up."

Shiho waves her hands frantically, "No no! It's fine! We can discover stuff together!" she settles down and tightens her ponytail, "And you know about Teddie, which is cool. Everyone back home is going to flip."

The pair continued eating and sharing stories and rumors they'd heard. Both getting hyped about soccer club and looking into part time jobs. They walked partway home together as the sun was setting, splitting up as they entered the shopping district. The second Shiho was out of view, Ren headed to where he saw the funky blue door between Yomenaido and Daidara's.

The door had the same translucency to it as the doors to the Velvet Room had, the blue glow certainly added to the effect. In all honesty, the one thing that kept Ren from believing that the door was a real Velvet Room door was because it looked more like an ornate rug with a handle than the prison cell bars he was used to. His curiosity got the best of him, and he reached for the knob. With a flash the door transformed to the blue cell bars he was familiar with and swung open. Without another breath, Ren stepped inside.

When Ren opened his eyes, he was in his old cell, the door still open wide. Lavenza was nowhere in sight, but it was possible she was just slightly too far left or right to be seen through the cell doorway. Ren exits the cell and stands in front of Igor's desk,

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor greets, as much as Ren understands that the voice that used to greet him was very much not the real Igor, the difference in pitch still threw him off. "My, my, it looks like you've entered through the wrong door…"

Ren blanks, "W-what?"

Igor drums his fingers on the desk in front of him, "Usually, when that specific door is used, it's not the prison that appears. Nor is the guest, well, you."

"What does that mean? There's another guest here?" Ren asks, his face twisted into a frustrated frown. The real Igor was not any less cryptic and vague than Yaldabaoth and that was not a good thing.

Instead of an answer, Igor lays a spread of tarot cards, these ones were blue, with only the image and arcana number instead of the red ones with the French titles Yaldabaoth used. Ren eyed the cards confusedly. He noted each number, trying to connect them to a title from memory alone. He points to the card marked XII, twelve, "The hanged man," he says, then to the card with the flame marked I, one, "the magician," he points to the next, "and strength. What are these for?"

"Your social links, Trickster." Igor chuckles, "It seems your contract is being reforged, and you're going to need to forge some new bonds." Then he flips one last card and Ren gasps. This card he could recognize in his sleep, it was marked zero,

"The fool…" Ren whispers,

With a wave of his hand, the cards disappear, "Now before you fret, the vows you forged on your last quest aren't for naught. These bonds here are simply the new ones that are going to give you active aid on this journey."

Ren takes a moment to process the words, "So… You're saying that these new bonds are here in Inaba? My other bonds are not broken but getting arcana doubles?"

Igor chuckles again, "You catch on quickly, Trickster. Make sure to cultivate your bonds on this journey, they could be the difference between revealing the truth with justice and succumbing to ignorance and corruption."

And then he wakes up at home.


	4. Another Velvet Room Guest?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren goes back to the Velvet Room to have some questions answered, along the way he finds a new activity to keep him busy

As much as he expected it, Ren was a little disappointed to have not had anything happen for the rest of the week. Despite the anxiety he had about the Velvet Room and all that about a reforged contract and new Confidants… or Social Links as Igor had called them. Which sounded a little lame, honestly, but eh, what can you do. It could have just been a Igor versus Yaldabaoth thing like the tarot deck thing.

Ren was pulled from his thoughts as his phone rang. He stopped walking and looked at the screen, causing at least two other students walking behind him to walk into him. Incoming call from Ryuji, Ren answers the call.

"Morning," Ren greets, continuing his trek past the Samegawa up to Yasogami.

"Yo, homeslice!" Ryuji returns, sounding way too awake for what time it was in the morning,

Ren gasps theatrically, "'Homeslice'? Have we drifted that far apart in the… what? Twelve hours since we last spoke on the phone?" he jested, complete with a broken hearted pout he knew Ryuji couldn't see.

Ryuji's next words were smothered in his amused snickering, "Alright, Renren you big baby, I'll be extra sweet on you later. But not now! Can't let the teachers think something good happened to me, might expect me to behave or some shit."

"I will never understand -wait!" Ren cuts himself off, "You're in earshot of teachers? Before eight?" Who are you and what have you done with my right hand man?" Sure his outbursts were earning weird looks from the other school kids heading up the hill with him, but Ren was too focused on enjoying the closest he can get to his best friend's company.

Ren could hear Ryuji's nonchalant shrug in his voice, "I woke up like an hour and a half early today. Too awake to go back to sleep so I decided to help out the gardening club move dirt bags to the roof. Y'know, Haru should be real proud, those flower gardens are effin' thriving now!"

Ren smiles at the thought, Haru worked hard on maintaining the flowers and vegetables around Shujin. They continued to catch each other up on recent happenings. As Ren ascends to the second floor, he passes by Coach Nagase and waves, "Oh that reminds me!" Ren says into his phone, "I decided to sign up for a sports club."

Ryuji gasped on the other end of the line and Ren could hear the sound of him hitting his desk in excitement, "Duuuuude! That's awesome! I didn't take you for the sportsy type."

"I'm not, typically. But I've done enough running that I think I could survive a soccer game." Ren says, "Besides, Shiho's the team manager, and the coach seems pretty chill."

"We can only hope," Ryuji laughs. The call ended shortly afterwards as the school bell rings. While Ren expects class to be the exact same as it was the past few days, homeroom surprises him this morning as Mrs Nakayama forgoes whatever actual homeroom stuff she's supposed to go over and instead opens with,

"I hope you lot aren't getting into trouble after school. I keep hearing police sirens around the neighbourhood. Not to mention the news about all those break-ins."

Break-ins? That was news to him, Ren decided that after school he would watch the evening news to figure out what was going on.

"Do you think we should get involved?" Morgana asks, peeking out of Ren's desk. Ren shrugs in response.

"Did anyone else hear a cat?" Mrs Nakayama asks, wide eyes scanning the classroom. When nobody spoke up she sighed, "I really need to get more sleep…"

The rest of Ren's Saturday classes passed without incident, he was asked about a strange English idiom that he was ninety percent sure nobody actually said anymore. Luckily Morgana and dumb luck were on his side and he answered correctly. Shiho gave him a sympathetic look as the nearby students whispered harshly about their preconceived notions on his academic skills, some things never change…

After school, Ren took Morgana down to the riverbed, considering between fishing and bug catching to pass the time until he had to go home. He watched people pass by on the road and talked to a few of the elderly folks who spent time at the pavilion near the river. On his way home, he cut through the shopping district again, and not just to check out the Velvet Room door again, but also to check the Marukyu business hours for Sunday. The door was still blue and glowy and beside the bookstore, but Ren paused in his tracks when he noticed it went back to looking like the fancy actual door.

"What's the matter?" Morgana asks,

Ren gestures vaguely to the Velvet Room entrance, "That's not my door. It changed when I checked it out earlier in the week back to the bars but now its…" he blanked for a second, not really knowing how to describe it, "that."

Morgana turns to the door and cocks his head, "That is weird. Any ideas as to why?"

"Igor implied there's another guest around here." Ren answers, "Want to visit? You haven't been here since… well…" he trailed off as he looked at the cat. Morgana nodded and sat in front of the door and urged Ren to open it.

Just like the last time, the ornate door turned into the prison bars with a blinding flash of blue light and swung open. Morgana stepped inside first, followed by Ren. When the lights faded and the two were met with the open cell, Morgana pouted a little that he couldn't even hold onto his Metaverse form here.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greets, and Ren scrunches his face up at the voice he's still not used to, "I see we are still in the prison. Most interesting. Though I must admit it is still strange for you, Trickster, to enter from where you did."

Ren sits cross legged on the floor in front of Igor's desk, Morgana hopping into the space between his legs, "I have some questions," he announces, "Morgana probably does too."

Igor picks up and starts shuffling his tarot deck, "The human mind is full of questions, the only way to know if it has the answers is to ask."

Ren scowls, "Why does the door only look like a cell door when I touch it? Is there another Guest here? Why is this place still here?" his voice growing tenser with every word. Morgana doesn't say anything, but rubs his face against Ren’s wrist as an act of comfort.

Igor chuckles and deals out three cards face down, "There is another guest, this door was tailored to his manifestation of this world, it changes to reflect your heart with your contact. And to answer the last question," he flips the centermost card, revealing the fool, "you cannot truly erase one's heart."

With another flash of blinding light, Ren finds himself sitting on the sidewalk, Morgana in his arms. He stands up, letting the cat jump into his school bag, and starts heading home.

"Well…" Morgana says after a few awkward minutes, "That was relatively straight forward. But what did the last bit mean?"

Ren didn't answer, instead he chewed the inside of his cheek and let himself drown in his own thoughts. So there's another person like him around Inaba, somebody who might have more insight into the whole Persona business than he does because they deal with the real Velvet Room. And the last thing Igor had said, 'You can't truly erase one's heart'? Did that have to do with the Palaces? Or the Metaverse? Or was it just some vague bullshit that didn't mean anything?

It wasn't a surprise to Ren when he got home and nobody was there, his parents often spent weekend evenings out of town. However it did nothing to sooth out his newly soured mood. Morgana headed immediately to Ren's room to give him some space while he heated up a microwave dinner for supper. Ren settled on the couch with his unevenly heated macaroni and cheese and turned the TV onto the news. After sitting through the weather and a Junes commercial, the regular anchor showed up onscreen,

"In local news, the foggy town of Inaba has been recently wracked with a series of odd burglaries. The IPD reports that most of the victims were locally run shops and businesses, but they wouldn't disclose what types of items nor the monetary values of the losses," the anchor announced and Ren dropped his fork onto the floor. "Not to mention," the anchor added, "there are rumours of some gang activity. Not biker gangs or things of that sort, but an organized crime ring. It'd be exciting if it wasn't real life, wouldn't you agree?"

Before the other anchor could answer, Ren shut the TV off. Burglaries and extortion, organized crime and victimized locals. This kind of shit just begged for action, and Ren couldn't just let it rest. But, without the Metanav he couldn't change people's hearts in the efficiently supernatural way, instead he has to go for a more convential approach. He was going to find out who was doing this and stop them. His first plan was to go to the police station to see if he could get a lead from there, then he would start-

The ringing of his phone cut his spiralling thoughts off. Ren fished his phone out of his pockets with violently shaky hands and grins, the name at the top of his screen distracting him from his frustration. He answers the call,

"Hey honey! You'll never guess what just happened!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is in honour of user JamesSavant who keeps commenting their observations and theories! Just for you, I'm actually adding a concrete plot to this bad boy!


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